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Vision Zero

Ending All Serious and Fatal Traffic Injuries: Zero by 2024

Many of San Francisco’s streets are dangerous by design. Each day in the city, at least three people walking are hit by cars. Every 18 hours, someone is severely injured or killed on city streets.

In 2013, a near-record number of people were killed while walking and biking: 21 pedestrians and four bicyclists were killed by cars. One was six year-old Sofia Liu, hit in a crosswalk. Residents and community groups came together to demand action from the city of San Francisco.

In 2014, San Francisco officially adopted Vision Zero as city policy. Walk San Francisco continues to work on getting the policy implemented.

Traffic deaths are not accidents. They are preventable.

Traffic deaths are not accidents. They are preventable.

In response to increasing number of traffic-related injuries and deaths, Walk San Francisco, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and a coalition of community groups, has called on city leaders and agencies to formally adopt Vision Zero by funding and implementing the following strategies to fix the most dangerous 13% percent of roads where more than 75% of all crashes occur (see map):

Engineering: fix the known dangerous locations where people are being injured on our streets – the majority of which are in the SoMa and Tenderloin neighborhoods — by delivering on-the-ground improvements quickly;

Enforcement: ensure full and fair enforcement of traffic laws, with a focus on the five most dangerous behaviors, problematic locations and at-fault drivers;

Education: invest in training and education programs for all road users, including public media campaigns targeting the most lethal traffic behaviors, and targeted education for large vehicle operators and professional drivers who spend the most hours on the road.

Vision Zero Commitments and Progress

Vision Zero Commitments and Progress

Since Walk SF, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and the Vision Zero Coalition partners called on the City to adopt Vision Zero, much progress has been made.

To date, twelve San Francisco government bodies have committed to Vision Zero, many of which include formal resolutions with clear metrics:

Mayor’s Office

Launched Vision Zero Two-Year Action Strategy

Developed “Be Nice, Look Twice” pedestrian safety awareness campaign

Board of Supervisors

Adopted resolution number 140047 urging the Mayor, the Chief of Police, the Director of the Municipal Transportation Agency to adopt a three-point plan to expedite the goals of San Francisco’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategies and implement a Vision Zero action plan

Secured $1.66 million through add-backs for fiscal years 2014-2015 to fund pedestrian and/or cyclist safety projects

County Transportation Authority

Adopted a resolution establishing a Vision Zero committee of the transportation authority to service for a two-year period

Department of the Environment

Adopted a resolution to provide support by making traffic safety a priority in the department’s transportationand outreach activities, in coordination with other City agencies

Department of Public Health

Co-leads the Vision Zero Task Force

Adopted a resolution to support reducing child pedestrian injuries through the Safe Routes to School Program, to institutionalize TransBASE and a comprehensive Transportation-Related Injury Surveillance System for evaluation, and monitoring, and to report back regarding progress and barriers on an annual basis

Department of Public Works

Prioritizes pedestrian high-injury corridors in repaving, working with other agencies to integrate pedestrian safety improvements into repaving projects, monitoring improvements in a publicly transparent way, and partnering with SFMTA to install 24 Vision Zero safety projects by 2016)

District Attorney

Provided a public statement supporting Vision Zero through increased prosecution and a request for staff dedicated to vehicular manslaughter cases

Fire Department

Adopted a resolution to explore smaller apparatus and the development of apparatus to accommodate safer street design, to train all firefighters on safe large vehicle driving skills in an urban setting, to set up inter-agency agreements to provide emergency response and injury-related data to SFDPH in support of its comprehensive Transportation-Related Injury Surveillance System, and to coordinate school safety education efforts

Adopted a resolution to includes Vision Zero goals in near term and long term planning documents, including the General Plan, and to require development projects to incorporate pedestrian and bicycle safety measures

Police Department

Focusing 50% of traffic enforcement on the top five most deadly driving behaviors including speeding, failure to yield, stop light running, stop sign running, and illegal turns.

Produced a Vision Zero educational video for personnel training to highlight the ‘Focus on the Five’ behaviors and pedestrian and bicycle safety information

Vision Zero Coalition

Vision Zero Coalition

Vision Zero is about everybody who lives, works, and plays in San Francisco. The Vision Zero Coalition was formed to advocate for the adoption of Vision Zero, and to ensure the implementation of policy concerns from the communities represented. Walk San Francisco leads the Coalition, with support from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. The Coalition includes more than 35 comunity-based organizations, nonprofits, and civic groups representing communities across the city, and especially those most impacted by traffic deaths, including low-income communities and communities of color, seniors, and people with disabilities. To learn more about the Vision Zero Coalition, please contact Cathy DeLuca, Walk SF’s Policy and Program Director.

Next Steps for Vision Zero

Next Steps for Vision Zero

Resources for Vision Zero

Resources for Vision Zero

Learn more about Vision Zero initiative and join the growing movement to save lives through infrastructure, enforcement technology, and targeted education. Download, review and share the publications below: